Has anyone made an auxiliary gas tank before?

13818 Views 31 Replies 24 Participants Last post by LongRider, Aug 21, 2011

fisck

Discussion Starter · Aug 2, 2011

Like everyone els I’ve been looking for the magic/secret way to store gas. I’ve come to the conclusion that in my situation I have no way to store the amount I want legally and safely. I can keep a few cans in the garage but I have nowhere to store the amount I want (very small yard). At least until I thought of this. I’ve been looking at auxiliary tanks I could put in the bed of my truck. From what I’ve read the legal limit is at least over 100 gallons (I’m looking at about 50 to 60) and tanks are made to survive most crashes. The problem I’m running into is all the setups I’ve found “start” at $1,000 and quickly go over 2 for the toolbox version.

Even then they are normally vehicle specific, which leaves my truck (2003 Nissan frontier) out.

Auxiliary tank tool boxes can be found for a few hundred dollars so I was thinking of making my own setup. The problem I’m running into with this is most of the tanks I’ve found are listed only for diesel. One company (RDS)says gasoline is legal long as it’s not a gravity feed system, but everyone selling their tanks say they are not DOT approved for gas.

I’m sending them an email asking for clarification.

I was hoping to get what everyone’s view on this is, and see if anyone can tell me what it takes to make a tank legal for gas. Guys are always making custom tanks for hot rods so I’m sure it can be done. If it’s a venting issue it would be an easily fix by venting it to the factory tank and letting its system do the work. The venting system for gas apparently has to have a means to catch the fumes so they don’t get into the atmosphere.

My goal is to store a few tanks worth of fuel for my truck and my wife’s car so if it’s a slow decline or just a cut in the fuel supply we can still get to work or bug out if need be. Pluss I wouldn’t have to worry about getting lost in the mountains and running out of gas, not to mention I just plain hate having to stop for gas when it busy. At the moment I’m just researching this option. I’m estimating it will cost from $500 to 7 or $800 (tank pump, plumbing, wiring, switch, ect) depending on what tank I get.

So what do you guys/gals think?

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fisck

Discussion Starter · #2 · Aug 2, 2011

Small correction. Plain tank are a few hundred, toolbox tanks start about 5 or $600. Not as cheap but still a bargan compared to a kit.

Lou77

· #3 · Aug 2, 2011

I picked up a 100gal L tank that fits under the tool box for $150 on Craigslist.

Hawaii Guy

· #4 · Aug 2, 2011

How about a fuel tank from a boat?

Dont know where u live, but maybe a salvage tank from a boat maybe what you're looking for... a wreck or someone looking to upgrade may give you a good deal on a decent sized tank...

woowoo2

· #5 · Aug 2, 2011

HG got it, look at the marine industry.

anickode

· #6 · Aug 2, 2011

The problem with gasoline is that it has a higher vapor pressure than diesel, and therfore puts off more fumes. To my knowledge, to be legally installed on a road going vehicle, it must be equipped with an evaporative emissions system to absorb and filter out gasoline fumes.

That siad, I have an auxiliary fuel tank in the spare tire well of my car. It is TIG welded 1/8" aluminum plate, sealed, and baffled. It is vented to the outside of the vehicle and tied into the car's evap canister with 1/4" fuel line. It uses a sealed filler cap in the back of the car under the carpet.

Reactions: 2

YukonPete

· #7 · Aug 3, 2011

I purchased a split tank from a farmer who was going to all diesel equipment. Mine has a divider in the middle so gas on one side and diesel on the other. 50 gallons on each side. Most welding shops should be able to make you what you want. Look at ads in ag fliers and magazines.

Pangea

· #8 · Aug 3, 2011

You will be hauling around a lot more weight every mile that you go. Mileage per gallon will suffer.

Reactions: 1

cj06

· #9 · Aug 3, 2011

another idea is to look for a hydraulic tank from equipment , also look at side tanks off of medium duty trucks !

Reactions: 1

8valve

· #10 · Aug 3, 2011

a diesel tank from a truck they come in sizes from 100 liter to 1000 liters
maybe thats something

fisck

Discussion Starter · #11 · Aug 3, 2011 (Edited)

Pangea said:
You will be hauling around a lot more weight every mile that you go. Mileage per gallon will suffer.

I've already thought of this and it sucks, but I ride my bike most of the time unless I need my truck or the weather "REALLY" sucks. So in my case it will spend a lot of time just storing my gas for me in a legal, and safe (my truck gets parked far enough from my house) way.

YukonPete said:
Most welding shops should be able to make you what you want. Look at ads in ag fliers and magazines.

I have thought of that and I'm going to look into prices, but do you have a wrough idea what it would cost for say a 58"x18"x16"?

Sooner_Will_Survive

· #12 · Aug 3, 2011

fuel sitting ages pretty quickly even with stabil. learn to live without fuel now. or convert to something that lasts longer like diesel

Grinnan Barrett

· #13 · Aug 3, 2011

Remember 55 gallons weighs 500 pounds. How much can that Nissan haul?

Big Blzn

· #14 · Aug 3, 2011

Grinnan Barrett said:
Remember 55 gallons weighs 500 pounds. How much can that Nissan haul?

I agree. Maybe if OP had a 3/4 or 1 ton then may be doable. Having 50-100 gallons in you little pickup will make handling and MPG suffer quite a bit.

How about you go buy several of these:

The 14 gallon and 30 gallon ones are nice. You could buy about 6 of the 14 gal ones and 2+ of the 30 gallon ones for the price of a fix tank in the bed of your pickup. these are much more versatile.

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/to...s&cm_pla=Google&cm_ite=fuel%20storage%20tanks

YukonPete

· #15 · Aug 4, 2011

I usually don't fill mine. There is alot of weight moving around back in the tanks. I usually only keep what I need during the week for my business about 20 gallons each. The gas and fuel will spoil faster in the tanks getting hot in the sun and the way gas goes bad in a few weeks anyways, it really isn't worth storing much of. My setup is fairly expensive because you have to have two of everything, 2 pumps, nozzles...

anickode

· #16 · Aug 4, 2011

Grinnan Barrett said:
Remember 55 gallons weighs 500 pounds. How much can that Nissan haul?

Gasoline weighs 6 lb per gallon, not 8. 55 gallons is 330 lbs. Quite a difference.

Reactions: 1

fisck

Discussion Starter · #17 · Aug 4, 2011 (Edited)

It's got a payload rating of just under 1,300 pounds. Like I said its just an idea I was wanting to bounce off some people understand what I'm wanting. I've seen those 15 gallon tanks before and will probably end up using something like that if only for how much this setup will be. Plus I'm not happy with the idea of losing a foot of my 6 foot bed.

I keep seeing people suggest buying a diesel. While I understand its better, how practical is it for most of us. My truck is paid off and is in good shape, my wife's car is about to be paid off and is in good shape. I've priced a few diesel trucks in the past and for a super cab in good shape I'm looking for just under 20k. I'm sure I can find a better deal but that's average from what I've seen. I haven't priced cars but I'm sure one in good shape isn't cheap. While we can afford it, it would still put us in debt. I'm happy staying out of deep dept if I can. So for me and my wife changing to a diesel isn't an option, and I'm willing to bet its not really an option to simply change over for a lot of people on this forum as well. Long term I'm going to look at it, but that's a long ways off unless something happens to my truck, and I've already started talking up the new diesel cars to my wife but with all the **** the gov keeps adding to them they aren't the same deal they used to be.

EDIT: I also just though about the milage issue. I drove my truck from Alaska to TN pulling a 1,300 pound trailer and a couple hundred more in the bed. My mileage went from an average of 17 "MAYBE" 18 if I baby it, to about 14 or 15, so I don't think 330 would make much of a difference. But the more I think about losing a foot of cargo space the more it chafes me!

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wpage

· #18 · Aug 4, 2011

Consider getting a trailer to store regular fuel containers on. There are also nice vinyl storage sheds that could store 5 or 6 gallon fuel cans. You would be suprised how long you can store gas.
It is too heavy to be hauling around in your vehicle properly.

Misanthropy

· #19 · Aug 4, 2011

Jerry Cans are so much cheaper and easier than installing a second tank. 10 extra gallons for me cost $50 for the cans and another $35 to fill them.

Per Ardua

· #20 · Aug 4, 2011

Grinnan Barrett said:
Remember 55 gallons weighs 500 pounds. How much can that Nissan haul?

I think that's a bit on high side. Perhaps if the gas is in a 150lb+ tank and you count the tank...

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